Umweltzone Freiburg tolerance for non compliance?

Does anyone know how tolerant they are in Freiburg for non display of umweltzone sticker, read somewhere they were? There appears to be a great stellplatz in Freiburg, but in congestion zone!!!! (bad planning) We collect our new m/h in 3 weeks (ironically built in Germany and winging its way through Europe now for delivery) and have 10 days before we leave for black forest tour. Have all the info on zones and how to apply, but not sure sticker will come in time before trip and if we travel without what will be the consequences?

We stayed there in 2010 - our first stop in Germany. At that stage we did not have a plakette. The owner of the platz seemed quite cavalier about it and told us not to worry. The next day we drove out of Frieburg without any problem, but soon went to a Merc truck dealer and got the plakette. I have no idea if the city has become more watchful - I guess it's all about luck and not being spotted.

In any event, it would be irrelevant to us now as Freiburg has tightened the requirement to a green plakette and ours is yellow.

p.s. if you have not yet applied for a sticker - don't bother. It's much cheaper to get one when you arrive. Go either to a TÜV centre or a dealer for the base vehicle. Ours cost €5

Jean Luc is right except that you can actually go into any many car dealership armed with your chassis number and they will issue it there and then. It doesn't have to be the make of your vehicle. TUV stations will do the same .

The system isnt run by cameras and thew fine is quite low ( i think its less than 50 euro ) which is why a lot of germans don't bother

The reason I went to the Merc dealer is that we had a debate over which plakette we were entitled to. The engine is Euro 3 but the problem arose because the MAM ex factory from Hymer was different to the standard Sprinter MAM from the Daimler factory. TÜV would only allow us a red plakette but the Merc dealer understood the issue and gave us the yellow one.

Do you know opening hours at weekends as we get to the are either Saturday afternoon or Sunday, so don't have objection to buying, just circumstances are stacked against us, hence question of how tolerant?

Several European countries now have some form of low emission control or zone; Germany's is perhaps the most developed. Progressively, the limits have been tightened so that now, many cities will not allow in anything without a green window sticker (called a plakette). Green is for Euro 4 emission classification or better. Yellow is for Euro 3 and Red is for earlier engines.
If you are not going into cities it does not matter. If you want to enter cities, unless you have a Euro 4 or better (circa 2006 onwards) it is probably not worth bothering to get a plakette - stay outside and use the bus, train or bike.
Also be aware that in countries where motorway use is subject to a 'go box' for tolling by the Km (vehicles over 3,500 kg) the rate per Km is usually dependent upon the emission classification of the engine.

Do you have to buy the sticker in Germany or is it available in other EU counties? Furthermore, is the one sticker for use just in Germany? If it is, do you have to obtain one for each country in the EU that uses similar emission controls?

It's for Germany and only if you travel into low emission zones which are colour coded and you can enter with the right colour sticker according to your engine emissions. You scan a copy of your V5 doc to show your emission class.

You can buy these online for just a few £ just ask google, I used TUV sud and very quick.

Go to this site - https://www.berlin.de/labo/kfz/dienstleistungen/feinstaubplakette.shop.en.php - and follow the instructions, enter your registration number and country code (in brackets e.g. (GB)) where it says 'Please enter a text'. You'll need to scan page 2 of your V5 Registration document (check the size of the document doesn't exceed 2Mb or the site won't accept it) and attach it to the application. Add a note that it is a diesel engined vehicle, or they will email you to ask and it will take longer.:thumb:

The cost is £5 (€6) including delivery from Germany so it's not really worth not having it.

Sent my application on a Friday afternoon, plakette arrive the following Wednesday, and I got a green disc when I thought I'd get a yellow (2004 Ducato, 2.8JTD, 4 tonnes), all down to the luck of the draw I think.:Wink:

Does this mean that you have to buy stickers for all countries or is it just Germany?

In our case we have a Euro5 engine, for our sins, so, although we appear to comply, how many stickers do we need?

Each country is different system and each country enforces differently. some its country specific (e.g. Switzerland), others its road specific (e.g. Austria, avoid motorways), others it city specific (Germany). so its a case of being aware of each system I'm afraid. Also be aware that Switzerland is annual (every january) and others are for life of vehicle (Germany)
Enforcement is different too - think London congestion zone - you will be recorded on CCTV, no avoiding!